Chapter 8:

Lord of Death

"The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug."

-Chris Hedges

Inuyasha ran with a rush of adrenaline he normally would only experience in battle, clutching Kagome tightly to his chest. Every time he landed and would push off again, his adrenaline would do nothing but increase, pumping through his veins with such a vigor he began to silently wonder if he would lose himself to his youkai side, regardless of Tessaiga on his hip or not.

To his side, Ryura was in much the same frame of mind. His swords rattling violently on his back did nothing to help him, either. It seemed they were worried just as much as he and the hanyou were for the Shikon Miko and the feel of their urgency only caused him to push his body harder. He, however, never needed to touch the ground, unlike Inuyasha. He was running across the air currents until he had to fall back to the earth only to leap back up; the hanyou was not truly flying like Ryura was. Feeling it was slowing them down, Ryura commanded the wind to Inuyasha's feet and made an invisible road for him.

The hanyou noticed it quite quickly. The air seemed to pull together for him and he had no need to lower himself to the ground anymore. Being this high in the air only caused his speed to grow. He was defying gravity, as Kagome mentioned once after seeing Sesshoumaru fly, and he sure as hell wasn't about to look a gifted horse in the mouth. He ran for everything he was worth, praying to the Kami that Kagome was not truly dying, and if she was, he would make it to her era on time to save her. Sesshoumaru might have Tenseiga and could easily bring her back to life, but there was absolutely no reason for Kagome to experience the coldness of death and come back just because Inuyasha was feeling lazy.

No, she wouldn't die. He refused to allow it.

To his side, Inuyasha noticed Ryura's eyes faintly glowing, giving the already eery looking orbs and even more intense light. Was he the one making it where Inuyasha could just run without obstacles? If so, Inuyasha was almost grateful.

Neither one of them spoke to each other as they traveled. The only sounds were coming from Kagome whenever she would release a whimper of pain. The noise pushed Inuyasha to move faster and faster every time he heard it, and it looked as if Ryura was in the same position, gauging the fierce and angry look on his face, and when he would gain a burst of speed.

Thankfully they were not too far from Kaede's village and the Bone-Eater's Well. They would have made it to the village before dawn, but one little thing was in their way.

A pink shimmering barrier surrounded a man in frightening armor. His black hair was unbound and flowing freely about his form, and his red eyes were focused intently on the woman in Inuyasha's arms.

The hanyou released a snarl that was the man's name. "Naraku!"

Ryura came to a halt beside Inuyasha, his own growl escaping him at Inuyasha's declaration. So this was Naraku, eh? Ryura looked over him carefully, and narrowed his eyes when Naraku's gaze shifted to focus on him instead.

"My, my, such a rush for one little Miko. She even has a Daiyoukai escort!" Naraku said with a short laugh. "Now, I wonder what in the world could be wrong with the little Priestess?"

"You bastard! What did you do to Kagome!?" Inuyasha yelled while baring his fangs.

"How close are we?" Ryura said only loud enough for Inuyasha to hear him. The hanyou's head snapped to the side, "Two minutes, tops. Why?"

"Go, I will keep him busy," Ryura said before reaching behind him with both hands and gladly answering his swords' call to be drawn. They sang happily with a metal hiss as the swords exited their scabbards.

Inuyasha stared hard at the Dragon Daiyoukai. Normally he would be firmly against it, as Naraku was his to kill, but for Kagome? He could let it slide just this once. He nodded once and darted to his right, skating across the sky in a wide arch, giving Naraku as much room as he could.

"Oh no, I don't think so, Inuyasha! The Miko is mine!" Naraku roared as he flung his left arm out to the side. His hand quickly formed into a wooden-like tentacle and shot outside of the barrier, aimed and ready to strike Inuyasha as it cut through the air.

"Fuck you, asshole!" Inuyasha yelled in return.

He realized that there was no way he could avoid the tentacle without seriously causing Kagome injury. Miko she might be, but she was still human. His turn would have to be too sharp, and it could potentially break her neck.

Inuyasha wasn't worried about it for too long, though. Ryura appeared with a bolt of lightning in front of him, the sword gripped in his left hand slicing clean through Naraku's tentacle.

He looked over his shoulder and yelled, "Go now, Inuyasha!"

"Don't kill him, eh!? Naraku's my kill! Just kick his ass enough he disappears for a few weeks!" Inuyasha yelled in return, already have taken off in the direction of the well. Once he was past that portal, there was no way Naraku could endanger Kagome any further.

"Ho? And exactly who are you, youkai?" Naraku said as he spun back around to face Ryura. He wasn't stupid, he knew there was no way he could possibly catch Inuyasha before he disappeared down that damned well, and was off to where ever it lead. It didn't mean the Miko disappearing with Inuyasha made him happy, though. He didn't dare turn his back on the Daiyoukai that had been with Inuyasha, being so unsure of who exactly the man left Naraku with no other options than to stay put.

Ryura didn't answer Naraku's question at first. He merely spun Raijinga in a slow circle.

"I am Ryura the Dragon." And with that, he pushed off some invisible ground beneath his feet and literally flung himself at Naraku with such a speed that the spider-hanyou himself had a hard time keeping up with Ryura.

Raijinga and Fujinga clashed against the pink barrier surrounding Naraku, causing sparks of all colors to fly in multiple directions.

"Tch, coward." Ryura mumbled as he thrust Fujinga behind him, and just as quickly, pushed it forward with the tip aimed for Naraku's barrier with a burst of white youki now swirling about the blade.

To Naraku's surprise, the barrier shimmered under the weight of Ryura's attack. The spider-hanyou regarded the youkai attacking his barrier thoughtfully. His name rang a bell in Naraku's head.

And then he threw his head back and laughed. "Ryura the Dragon! Leader of the Four War Gods! Oh how far you have fallen to be protecting a human whore and her hanyou pet!" His voice was raised now and he pushed back against Ryura in the form of tentacles sprouting from his back.

Ryura snarled at Naraku and quickly hopped backwards, slicing at what tentacles encroached too close to his personal space. He drew back his head and inhaled deeply, his cheeks expanding. Within his chest he felt his youki bubble to the surface, quickly rising to mix with the air in his cheeks. He jerked his whole body forward and opened his mouth, releasing a stream of youki in the shape of wide column of bright white and blue lightning, and aimed it straight at Naraku and his damned barrier.

Ryura heard Naraku laugh once again, "You truly are the Dragon of the War Gods, what a pity! Still, it would be such a shame just to kill you. Your control over wind and lightning would be most welcomed – absorbing you would such a better option."

Angry now, more-so than before, and with his adrenaline pumping widely through his veins, Ryura poured more of his youki into the attack, increasing not only the size of the stream of power but also its intensity. Naraku's eyebrow began to twitch as his barrier was constantly assaulted. Now normally this wouldn't be a problem, but the Daiyoukai was actually managing to crack said barrier.

Once he was out of breath, Ryura leaped forward, Raijinga poised in front of him with the blade's tip aimed for the sky. Lightning began to crackle around it, turning the metal into a dangerous instrument of destruction.

Ryura laughed darkly and then he roared, "You, absorb me? Don't make me laugh!"

"Damn it to hell!" Naraku cursed as he watched the Dragon fly at him, lightning crackling all around him. He blew out a mist of miasma, which only turned into lower level youkai.

"Dragon Thunder!" Ryura was right over Naraku and the slowly appearing horde of youkai below him. The now white lightning pounded down on Naraku and what unfortunate youkai who were close to him, destroying them while disintegrating Naraku's barrier.

Naraku yelled out in pain as the lightning began to disintegrate his body. When there was nothing left but ash, Ryura noticed a doll sliced in half falling. Naraku had been a puppet.

"Damnit!" He cursed as he fended off one of the many youkai left behind in Naraku's disappearance.

The more he killed, the more his blood boiled to an almost explosive temperature. That son of a bitch had ran away like a coward! When he found him, he was going to rip his damned still beating heart out of his chest and eat it in front of the fucking creature! Nothing would please him more right now than to see fear etched into Naraku's face as he watched himself die.

As soon as all of Naraku's minions, the summoned youkai, were dead with their mutilated parts falling quickly to the earth, Ryura let out a roar of unadulterated rage that only a dragon could emit. The slowly brightening sky from the sun rising was soon overshadowed by dark, angry storm clouds that swirled as if a tornado was about to be formed. Lightning danced through the air as thunder rumbled the earth itself.

Residents of Kaede's village who were waking up to begin their day witnessed the ominous storm clouds and swiftly they began to pray to Amaterasu, begging them to prevent her brother, Susanowo the Deity of Storms and Chaos, from destroying their village and to spare their lives. Little did they know it wasn't Susanowo, but a very angry Dragon Daiyoukai.

The elder Miko, Kaede, watched the sky with worry. She knew the power was not the Kami, but Youkai.

He was going to find Naraku, and he wouldn't stop until one of them was dead. He would kill anything that got in his way for the insult Naraku gave him, and for harming the being that had somehow managed to find and take care of the last relic and reminder of his family, the person the swords themselves had become attached to – they too fed his rage. Naraku would be in Hell before the moon cycle was finished.

In the realm of the Kami, Touga watched on with a sigh. The boy had fallen back into purblind and blood hungry rage. He only hoped he would snap out of it before the situation became too out of hand and he was forced to destroy Ryura's soul.

Five hundred years into the future, Kagome woke with a pounding headache. She faintly noticed she was lying in her bed, in her own home. Her body felt heavy, her throat hurt, and she found it hard to breathe. Her head was stuffed up, probably what gave her the headache, and slowly Kagome began to wonder if the boar she ate the night before was rotten.

"Kagome! You're awake!" she heard her mother's excited cry, and she flinched at the volume. Hitomi was quick to realize Kagome's head must be in a world of pain, and lowered her voice a few decibels.

"I have medicine for your head if you need it, dear." Her voice was much softer this time, and Kagome could only be grateful for that and the medicine her mother placed into her hand as she sat up. She put the pills into her mouth and threw her head back, swallowing them without the aid of water.

"Thanks, mama." Kagome whispered, noticing just how sore her throat was. "W-what happened?"

Hitomi smiled softly and sat down next to Kagome on her bed. She gently pushed Kagome down until she was laying flat again, and smoothed her hair away from her forehead. "You were terribly sick. Sango with the help of your new friend... Ryuu... Ryu..."

"Ryura," Kagome supplied.

"Yes! Ryura. They got medicine into you, and Inuyasha and Ryura brought you home," Hitomi said with a nod. "Inuyasha wanted me to tell you something, though..." Her brow furrowed as she thought about the weird message.

"What was it?" Kagome asked hoarsely.

Hitomi stuttered for a moment, trying to repeat the words exactly as Inuyasha said them. He made it clear she needed to do this. "Journey's end- still alive, this autumn evening."

Eyes flying open, Kagome shot up in bed like someone lit a fire under her. "What!? Mama, is that what he said? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, yes. Why?" Hitomi asked. Now she was confused beyond belief. Why did a haiku send Kagome into a near panic?

She watched her daughter fly around her room on wobbly legs, throwing things into the nearest bag she could find, which happened to be a black messenger bag Souta probably left in her room on accident. She packed her First Aid kit, medicine setting on her desk meant for her illness – else the medicine wouldn't of been in her room to begin with – along with an extra change of clothing and a pair of shoes. She then ran from the room, returning with bathing supplies, packing them away with the rest of her things.

Hitomi quietly wondered if Kagome realized what she was doing. She never had taken anything but her extra school uniform with her before – now she was taking jeans, a t-shirt, and normal shoes.

She continued to watch as Kagome haphazardly threw her hair into a pony tail for whatever it was she was going to do. Hitomi knew better than to try and stop her; after all she had her blood as well as her late husband's running through her, and if they weren't the two most stubborn people in the world, she didn't know who was.

Kagome didn't pay attention to what she was already wearing. Black yoga pants and a white tank top were the last thing on her mind. She pulled on an extra pair of sneakers, white and pink with black soles and a pink puma cat along the tongue. Kagome didn't care at the moment that she was in her house – it was her room, after all. She could wear her shoes if she wanted to.

She marched over to the window, threw the bag over her shoulder, and hopped onto the small balcony outside. Kagome heard her mother squeal with fear, but she ignored it, instead leaping over the side and landing with a grunt on the ground below. A wave of dizziness hit her, and she tried not to pay it any mind. She had to go; she should have already been there yesterday.

"Kagome Hirgurashi! Don't you ever scare me like that again!" Her mother yelled after her.

"Yes mama, I'm sorry!" Kagome yelled in return. Oh if her mother ever found out half of the crazy stunts Kagome pulled in the Fuedal Era, Hitomi would have a heart attack.

A.N.: The haiku used in this is from Basho!